Tube cleaner



June 23, .1959 J. F. Ross 2,891,269

v TUBE CLEANER Filed oct. 4, 1955 23 z /24 /27 .MII

United States Patent Oice 2,891,269 Patented June 23, 1959 TUBECLEANER Joseph F. Ross, Chicago, Ill. Application October 4, 1955, Serial No. 538,449 6 Claims. (Cl. 15-104.18)

This invention relates in general to a tube cleaner, and more particularly to a tube or lue` cleaner for cleaning the interior surfaces of boiler ltubes and the like, although other uses and purposes may be apparent to one skilled in the art. Specifically, this invention deals with an adjustable tube cleaner that may be effectively employed to clean various sizes of tubes.

Heretofore, numerous tube cleaners or scrapers have been developed for use in cleaning boiler tubes, but in most cases, those cleaners which have been adjustable for various sized tubes have included complicated mechanisms which are expensive to manufacture. Moreover, ditiiculty has been experienced in easily adjusting those cleaners for various size tubes. Furthermore, in the adjustable type tube cleaners, the scraper blades have not been easily replaceable.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to obviate the above-named diioulties and provide an improved tube cleaner.

Another object of this invention is to provide a combination iiue brush and scraper unit having a minimum of parts that may be economically manufactured, and wherein the brushes and scraper blades are easily replaceable.

A still further object of this invention resides in the provision of a tube or flue cleaner that may be adjusted to accommodate cleaning of various sizes of boiler tubes and the like within prescribed limitations.

Another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable combination i'lue brush and scraper device that may be easily and quickly adjusted for use in various sizes of boiler tubes and the like.

Still another object of this invention is in the provision of a tube cleaner having a guide means at one end thereof which guides the body ofthe cleaner into the open end of a boiler tube or the like.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheet of drawing wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:

On the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view of a tube cleaner constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the tube cleaner in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view, with some parts in elevation, taken substantially along line III- III in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional View, with some parts in elevation, taken substantially along line IV-IV in Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a partially fragmentary and sectional view of a boiler tube, illustrating the operation of the present invention.

As shown on the drawings:

Referring to the drawings, the tube cleaner of the present invention, comprises in general an elongated substan- Each blade l3.is secured to a leg of the tially U-shaped supporting member, generally designated by the numeral 10, a substantially cone-shaped guide member 11 connected to the body member 10, an adjusting element 12 for enabling the tube cleaner to be eiiiciently employed in various sizes of boiler tubes and the like, and a plurality of scraper blades 13 and brushing elements 14 carried on the body member 10.

The substantially U-shaped body member 10 includes a pair of oppositely facing legs 15 and 16 connected together at one end by the bight portion 17. It is noted that the leg 16 is somewhat longer than the leg 15 for purposes of connecting at the free end thereof to the guide member 11.

The cone-shaped guide member 11 serves to guide the tube cleaner through a boiler tube such as that indicated at T in Figure 5. A center supporting member, including a short bar or length of pipe 18 having a pair of enlarged bosses 19 and 2@ secured to the opposite ends thereof, is secured in axial relationship to the guide 1l' at one end in any suitable manner such as by welding the boss 20 to the apex end of the guide 11. The guide 11 is actually in the form of a truste-conical cone and open at both ends, to permit insertion of the boss 2b and securement thereto. The boss 19 of the guide supporting member is suitably secured to the longer leg 16 of the U-shaped body member lil, such as by welding or the equivalent. It may also be noted that the longitudinal axis of the cone-shaped guide 11 is in substantial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the body member 10 to provide accurate aligning of the tube cleaner within a boiler tube T as shown in Figure 5.

In some cases, a boiler tube may be so filled with sediment, such as sooty material, that it would oe nearly impossible to push or pull the tube cleaner through such a tube because of the cone-shaped guide il. A plurality of openings 21` are provided in the side wall of the guide 11 to allow the passage of sediment therethrough. While any number of openings may be provided, only three are shown and contemplated in the instant invention. lt may be noted that the boss Z9, that is connected to the guide 11, is internally threaded to receive a cleaner rod 22, as seen in Figure 5.

The scraper blades 13 are substantially horseshoeshaped or U-shaped and are carried in axial spaced relationshipon the respective legs 15 and 1u' of the Ll-shaped body member l@ and are stradtlling `the body member. body member 10 and perpendicularly positioned thereto. While only a pair of blades are shown in the drawings, it is understood that several pairs of the blades may be mounted on the body member 10 in` some cases. To secure each blade to its respective leg of the U-shaped body, a pair of4 oppositely projecting ears `23 are formed by initially cutting a plurality of slits in the middle of each blade and bending the ears in opposite directions as shown in Figures l and 2. Suitable fasteners such as rivets 24 are received in the apertured ears and holes in the legs of the U-shaped body member to rigidly secure the scraper blades 13 to the legs. However, it is only a simple matter to replace a scraper blade 13 by breaking loose the rivets 24 and removing .the old scraper blade, and riveting a new scraper blade in position.

The scraper blades i3, working as a pair, substantially define a circular scraping member for scraping the entire inner surfaceof a boiler tube. It may be noted that the blade edges are oppositely sharpened to provide a bladecutting surface for either `direction of movement of the tube cleaner through a`boiler tube. However, in some cases, it may be desired to have the blades sharpened so that they both scrape during the same directional movement of the tube cleaner through a boiler tube. As the blades are mounted on the body member 10, as seen in Figures l and 2, the center points of the blade edges are oppositely disposed.

A pair of substantially horseshoe-shaped or Uashaped brush elements 14 are also carried by the legs of the body member and are `shaped similarly to the blade elements 13. These brush units include a substantially horseshoe-shaped base 25 having any suitable type of bristles 26 secured to the outer periphery thereof. The brush elements 14 tal-so carry oppositely projecting ears 27 in a similar manner as the blade elements 13 carry ears 24. The ears 27 may be rigidly attached to the legs of the body member 1l) by suitable fasteners, such as rivets 28. Likewise, the brush elements 14 may also be replace able las was discussed with respect to the blade elements .13, and the brush elements are axially spaced along the body member 10 and on opposite leg members in 4the same fashion as the blade elements 13 are secured to the body member 10.V

The adjusting member 12 includes a helical 'spring 29 bottomed at opposite ends on the inner faces of the legs fand 16 of the body member 10 which serves to continually bias the leg members apart. A nut and bolt assembly 30 extends through suitable aligned apertures in the leg members 15 and 16 and through the center of the coil spring 29 to provide a limiting stop for controlling the spacing between the legs 15 and 16 and adjusting the tube cleaner for various sizes of boiler tubes.

While a combination scraper 'and brush device is disclosed as a tube cleaner, it is to be understood that either the brush units or scraper blades may be optionally eliminated for use in some cases.

In operation, the tube cleaner is inserted in one end of a boiler tube and pushed through the tube until the cleaner has passed completely through a boiler tube such as illustrated in Figure 5, the tube being designated by the let-ter T. On that stroke, a portion of the sediment within the boiler tube will be removed therefrom at the adjacent end. When the tube cleaner has passed by the open end of the tube T, as shown in Figure 5, before the cleaner can be pulled back through the tube, it will be necessary to align the scraper blades with the interior of the tube. The substantially cone-shaped guide member 11 thus guides the tube cleaner gradually back into alignment therewith, thus precluding the possibility of catching a blade or brush on the open end of the tube and necessitating a second operator for the manipulation of a single tube cleaner. On the return stroke, sediment is also removed from the boiler tube. The stroking of the tube cleaner within the boiler tube T is continued until the tube has been satisfactorily cleaned. To #accommodate smaller or larger tubes, within certain prescribed limitations, the adjusting element 12 will be manipulated to allow the legs 15 and 1.6 of the body member 10 to spread further apart or to space them closer together, as the case may be.

ln vie-w of the foregoing, it is 'seen that the present invention provides a tube cleaner having a minimum of parts, that may be economically manufactured, that is adjustable for various sizes of boiler tubes, and that may be easily and quickly manipulated by a single operator.

It will be understood that modiiications and variations may be elected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

l claim as myl invention:

1. A tube cleaner which comprises an elongated substantially U-shaped body. member, one of the legs of the member being longer than the otherA and having a coneshaped guide attached to the free end thereof, a plurality of horseshoe-shaped scraper blades secured to and straddli-ng said legs individually and having the center points on the blade edges in oppositely disposed relation, and spring means urging the scraper blades outwardly.

2. A tube cleaner which compris-es an elongated substantially U-shaped body member having a cone-shaped guide secured to the free end of one of the legs of said member, a plurality of horseshoe-shaped scraper blades secured to and straddling said legs individually and having the center points on the blade edges oppositely disposed,

' and means for continually urging the legs of said member away from each other.

3. A tube cleaner which comprises :an elongated substantially U-shaped body member having a cone-shaped guide secured to the free end of one of the legs of said member, a plurality of horseshoe-shaped scraper blades secured to and straddling said legs individually and having the center points on the blade edges oppositely disposed, and means for continually urging the legs of said member away from each other, said means including a spring bottoming at each end on the oppositely disposed inside faces of the legs of said member.

4. A tube cleaner which comprises an elongated substantially U-shaped body member having a cone-shaped guide secured to the free end of one of the legs of said member, a plurality of horseshoe-shaped scraper blades secured to `and straddling said legs individually and having the center points on the blade edges oppositely disposed, means for continually urging the legs of said member away from each other, and means for adjusting the maximum spacing between said legs.

5. A tube cleaner comprising an elongated substantially U-shaped body member, one of the legs of the member being longer that the other and having -a cone-shaped guide secured to the free end thereof, at least one pair of 'horseshoe-shaped blades, one each attached to and straddling each of the legs in axial spaced relatiomthe center points on the blade edges being oppositely disposed, spring means biasing said legs apart, land adjustable stop means for controlling the maximum distance between said legs.

6. A tube lcleaner comprising an elongated substantially U-shaped body member, one of the legs of the member having a coneJshaped guide att-ached to the free end thereof, the axis of the guide being substantially aligned with the longitudinal :axis of the body member, a pair each of horseshoe-shaped brushes and scraper blades,` each blade and brush secured to and straddling the individu-al legs of said member and being axially spaced therealong, the center points of the blade edges and the brush edges being oppositely disposed, spring means biasing said legs apart, and adjust-able stop means controlling the maximum spacing of said legs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 55,815 Bush lune 26, 1866 133,578 Freeman etal Dec. 3, 1872 386,988 Kendall luly 31, 1888 491,791 Wilson Feb. 14, 1893 570,506 Ruggles Nov. 3, 1896 650,451 Byers May 29, 1900 728,085 Cruzan May 3, 1903 745,642 Miller Dec. 1, 1903 1,184,606 Albright May 23, 1916 1,379,852 Chestnut et al May 3l, 1921 2,280,510 Esko Apr. 21, 1942 2,395,019 Sievers Feb. 19, 1946 2,552,339 Moon May 8, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 80,402 Germ-any Apr. 4, 1895 402,180 Germany Sept. 15, 1924 

